Behind the Closet Door
by DancingLikeWater
Summary: Adelphus has always despised Dilandau and now he has devised a way to remove him from his life. A look at how the DS react, had Dilandau died instead.


"Behind the closet door"

"Sir, you ordered me to come and see you?" Dilandau inquired. He did not feel at ease in Adelphus' quarters. Normally, he would have been ordered to Adelphus' throne room, which was more spacious and more easily trusted.

"Ah, so finally you show up. Shut the door behind you and come over here." Adelphus spoke softly, almost gently.

Dilandau did not trust that this would be a peaceful meeting. None of the ones he had had aboard Adelphus' ship thus far had been so. He did, however, trust that he would be able to defend himself should anything happen. He had nothing to worry about. He shut the door and walked towards Adelphus' voice, keeping his guard up. Adelphus was seated at a table, scrolls and ben before him. Battle plans. There was little else he did in his free time, little else he enjoyed. It was also the reason that the Dragonslayers were staying aboard his ship for a time.

"Sit down," he ordered, not waiting for a bow. Dilandau did as he was ordered, his mind fast at work plotting all escape routes. He would rather not kill Adelphus. That would only bring trouble.

"You've been rather troublesome as of late," he said. "Any explanation as to why?"

"Perhaps," Dilandau began, "You would inform me of what areas I have been troublesome in and for how long. I would -gladly- give you an explanation then, sir."

"All areas."

"All?"

"Must I repeat myself? Yes, all. Explain."

"I have no explanation," Dilandau replied with exasperation. "And furtherfmore this meeting could have been conducted via messenger, rather than using precious time which neither of us have much of."

"Oh, this particular meeting could nto have been conducted any other way," stated Adelphus. He rose from the table and put the scrolls away. He retrieved another and placed it in front of Dilandau.

"Does this look familiar?" he asked.

Dilandau glanced it over. He stared straight ahead now, trying to ignore Adelphus.

"Not at all," he lied. He knew it well, however if he said so, he would then have accountability.

"No?"

"Must -I- repeat myself, sir?" Dilandau said in a mocking tone. For that, he recieved a whack to the back of the head.

"Yes, you do."

"Very well," Dilandau said, knowing full well that this statement was reserved for the higher ranking person in a conversation. He hated these private meetings meant only for his humiliation. If others insisted on having them, he would retaliate.

"No," Dilandau repeated.

"I suppose I can't fault you. You never can remember anything, after all."

Dilandau's teeth grated together. He couldn't help his poor memory. Whole days, whole years were missing from his mind. He had to keep a calendar anywhere that he frequented, as it was often that he didn't know the day.

"I can't fault you for anything. You are blameless and unaccountable, responsible for nothing."

Adelphus placed his elbows against Dilandau's shoulders, leaning on them. Dilandau grimaced slightly. Adelphus was a rather large man, after all.

"You're not very tolerant of pain either, are you?"

Dilandau remained silent.

"Answer me, and truthfully."

In other words, with the answer that Adelphus wanted regardless of what Dilandau thought.

"No sir." It was obvious that these were not his words of choice.

Adelphus laughed. This irked Dilandau to no end. Heh coudln't stand to be embarassed like this.

"Oh, if you only k now. If you only knew.."

Adelphus pressed harder and harder on Dilandau's shoulders. However, Dilandau could only be pushed so far before he could no longer take it. Dilandau stood up from the chair and bolted to the right.

"As per decorum, if there is no further business, this meeting must adjourn," he stated rather quickly.

"I do have other business with you, however. Come back here."

Dilandau paused momentarily. His instincts told him to simply run. However, Adelphus was not as docile and patient as the Strategos. There were plenty of others Adelphus could use to take him down. While he did not think himself weak he had no intention of taking on an entire Zaibach army by himself. And he would be alone, for his men would certainly have been impounded already were he to rebel.

He walked a few slow steps towards Adelphos and stopped, his arms crossed.

"And what other business is there, sir?"

"Come over here first."

Against his will, Dilandau walked back over.

"I do have important matters to attend to, sir," Dilandau said.

"Not any more. I have recently decided to relieve you ove command. Hand over your weapon."

Dilandau stared at Adelphus for a moment, taken aback. He was then overcome with laughter.

"You can't do that . I have an assured place unless proven unfit for command due to reasons of insanity. And even then, I don't lose my place. I am given leave."

Adelphus had already attempted using reasons of insanity to get rid of Dilandau. On numerous occasions. No one would take the case seriously as it was well known that Dilandau was indeed insane already.

"You forget to mention that your inevitable death will also relieve you of command."

And now the tone of the situation had altered.

"I see. ANd you intend to kill me?" Dilandau asked, contemplating his escape routes once more.

"Absolutely not. However, there are people who wish you dead. It would be just as easy to get rid of you and have them blamed for it."

"Of course."

"They will be blamed for everything, I'm certain."

"What are your intentions?"

"I don't reveal my plants to the enemy."

"I will kill you if I have to," Dilandau said sternly.

Adelphus approached Dilandau.

"Now is the time. Try and kill me if you think you can. You won't get the opportunity again."

Dilandau did nothing. He was forever on the offense, but in a case like this, offense would ensure his demise.

"No."

"So you know you will lose?"

"I will kill you if I have to. I don't have to."

"You'd better think that statement over again."

"I'm leaving."

"We are not finished."

"Yes we are."

Dilandau started for the door once more. Adelphus was ahead of him. He locked the door securely and tucked the key away.

"What makes you think I won't break that down?" Dirandu asked nervously.

"Four inches of steel."

And now Dilandau felt truly threatened. Adelphus did mean to kill him, no matter what he said.

"You really i ntend to die today?" Dilandau inquired.

"I have no intention of doing so."

"Every manual we have and every instructor states that if you don't give an enemy somewhere he may escape to, you will lose because he is fighting for his life whole your victory is not as important to you."

"Only if the enemy is strong enough, which you are not."

Dilandau drew his sword. He wouldn't take the insults when an invitation to kill had been made. He decided to use hsi best move for this. If it didn't work, there would be no hope. The two struggled for a good half an hour. Adelphus had the advantage of being in his personal space, and so he knew many more tricks to help him win. In the end, Dilandau lost. Adelphus had earned his position by prowess in battle and so it is no great surprise that Dilandau lost. Dilandau had been knocked unconscious by Adelphus' final blow - Right to the back of the head as he often did for disciplinary purposes.

When he came back into consciousness, he was surrounded by darkness. His first impulse was to scream. However when he started to, there was no sound. He also found himself unable to move. This was definitely not a good thing.

"Yes, we are all a little disturbed by the loss. Though I have never held any love for the man, he was still one of my men." Adelphus' familiar voice came through, quite remorseful and pained.

"This will be a great loss to us."

"Not so great a loss. His gropu is filled with good soldiers. Surely one of them can take his place."

"Are you certain?" the stranger asked.

"Absolutely. His messenger would be a particularly good candidate."

"Ah, yes. The one named Gatty."

"I have sent for him to be here at 1700. We will discuss what has happened and how this will be overcome."

"You are wasting no time, I see."

"None at all. The Dragonslayers ar ea group which thrives only on good leadership. If something is not done quickly they will lose all the good qualities which Captain Dilandau has instilled in them." He paused, mulling over what to say next.

"Besides," he continued," Lieutenent Commander Gatty is one I've had my eye on for awhile. He has been languishing under Captain Dilandau's influence. It's about time he had the work he deserves."

"Ah. you really are making the best of this situation."

"Why not? People die all the time. No need to let the army fall apart."

The two discussed the matter further until the stranger felt he had to return to his work. Adelphus showed him out and immediately locked the door. He whistled one of Zaibach's many patriotic tunes, feeling absolutely jovial.

Dilandau, meanwhile, was beyond furious. He could feel nothing but hatred today. Gatty was taking his place. Gatty, of all people, ought to be doing his utmost to find Dilandau. After all, in this case, there was no corpse. That ought to provide suspicion. Gatty should know better than to trust what Adelphus says. He has attended many of these meetings between his captain and the general. He knows how they feel about one another. Gatty obviously wasn't trying.

Hours more passed. It had been nearly 24 hours since Dilandau had last eaten. He was now in the throes of dispair over what was happening, and also very uncomfortable from being tied up. Finally, it was five o'clock and he heard the outer door open. He heard footsteps, some a bit lazy, the others very measured stiff.

"Shut the door. Thank you. Now, then, you know why you are here?" he heard Adelphus ask.

"Yes, sir," was the curt and respectful reply.

"You will assume command the moment you walk out the door. Do you know your duties?"

"Absolutely, sir," Gatty replied.

"I will send someone to help you clear out your former commander's quarters. You will then move your things in there. Understood?"

Gatty hesitated with his reply.

"Sir, I will of course do as you ask. However, he was my commander. I request permission to do this myself, sir."

"Very well. If that is what you wish, there is no reason you should not be allowed to do so. Well then, that's settled. Do you have any questions?"

Gatty once again hesitated. He was uncomfortable with the whole situation. He knew that he could very easily run the group. He knew everything there was to know about it. However, what had happened left him disturbed. It didn't seem right.

"Sir, I request permission for myself and the others to look further into the incident. I believe that it has not been investigated properly and would like to look into it myself, sir."

"Gatty, I understand that you feel pained by his loss. However, I will not allow this. It does not feel right because you did not foresee his death coming. You are naturally disoriented by it. This will pass. If I allow you to investigate, it will only prolong your misguided feelings. Do you understand?"

Gatty hesitated once more. There was never a moment in his life that he would hesitate for anything with an answer, and yet now he felt he had to. This was different. This was more important than those other times.

"Sir, I must persist and ask once more. He would never allow himself to be caught off-guard. Something has happened to him and I can not be at ease unless I know what it is. I must go and find out, sir."

"Gatty, I will not allow you to. I order you to go back to the Dragonslayer's quarters and do as I said. I will not tell you again, and I will not allow you to further question me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Gatty said after another pause.

"Excellent. You are dismissed."

Dilandau heard Gatty's footsteps as he walked away, and felt all hope for help from his men to shrink away. Gatty would never break the rules so much to disobey Adelphus to find him. Not Gatty. Gatty was rule-bound and could not handle himself if he had to do something so unconventional. It made him dependable, but it would be the downfall of both of them.

"Damn you, Gatty," Dilandau said to himself. "Damn you and the rest! How dare you!"

Dilandau raved in his head for as long as he was able. He passed into a tortured sleep, almost insensible from the lack of food and peace. He awoke and fell asleep once more. This was his cycle for an interminable amount of time. He once again heard footsteps and listened intently.

"Sir, I do understand that. However, I must assure you, the situation need not be looked into. It would not be wise to do so."

Adelphus was adressing someone as sir. This could only mean that the Strategos had been asked in.

"General, while I understand that disruption is not a good thing for your work, I do insist that an investigation take place. Dilandau was very important to us, and the sorcerers will not rest until they know what has happened. I can assure you, you would not appreciate their disruptions into your work."

"Yes, sir. I understand."

"LCDR Gatty is waiting in the Dragonslayer's wing. The others will be conducting this investigation. I would like you to accompany them and direct their activities. They are a good group when they know what must be done, but their personalities are such that left to their own devices, they can not come to the same conclusions or decide who among them will be in charge."

"I have assigned Gatty as their new captain. They should be listening to him, sir."

"Yes, I understand. However, you must keep in mind that Dilandau was their world. He will not be so easily pushed aside and Gatty can not force that to happen. You have placed him in a difficult position, General. As he has a history with stress related problems, I would suggest not pressing the matter."

"I understand, sir. I will accompany them."

"Thank you. You are to keep to the lower orders and the general areas. I shall be conducting my own investigation of the officer's wings. I will expect a messenger in three hours' time."

"Yes sir," Adelphus said, his voice never quavering. He felt there was little reason to worry. The closet he had placed Dilandau in was a secret one, one which was quite well hidden. He had it found it a useful thing indeed, whether it be for contraband or for the purpose which he was using it to accomplish now.

Once Adelphus had left, Folken began a search of the room. He also knew how Adelphus and Dilandau regarded eachother. It was suspicious. However, as Dilandau had these sorts of problems with most people, it was no more suspicious than anyone else.

Dilandau heard him opening doors and walking about, stopping here or there to look something over with more caution. If he could only scream...but no. He couldn't. There was no way to be heard. With despair, he heard Folken walk away. Soon he fell into an unconscious state again.

When he awoke once more, he found himself able to move. However, he felt so weak that he did not wish to. He opened his eyes slowly. It was night time. The sea was to the left of him, and a city was to the right. He groaned and rolled his head to one side.

"Hey, I think he's awake now," an unfamiliar voice called. He heard footsteps once more, a sound he was beginning to hate.

"You...what's your name?"

Dilandau simply groaned in reply and attempted to return to his sleep.

"Ah, ya must be tired. I betcha got thrown out, right? Father got tired of you're carousing around town and ya got kicked out, right?"

"Go away," Dilandau's hoarse voice called out. "Go away. I'm...dying."

"Hah. I've heard that before. It's just a hangover. You'll be alright. But you'll need a place to stay. Got one?"

"No. I don't," Dilandau stated coldly.

"Ya could probably stay in the inn over there," one of the men said as he pointed to a building across the street.

"They take in orphans and lost children. You're a bit too old, but they'll still take ya in."

"I don't want help from them. I'm not weak," he protested, although the weakness of his voice betrayed the fact that he was.

"We'll take ya there, then. But you'll need a job soon. Ya got any skills?"

"I fight. Fighting is my life. This is what I do."

"Oh," replied one with a bit of hesitation. "Ain't no call for that around here. Unless you want to be kicking people out of bars. You don't look strong enough to do that. Can ya maybe mix drinks? Do some tailoring? They need tailors down the street there."

"I will not take a job like that. Go away!" His voice was just as hoarse and becoming worse the more he yelled. "I was made to fight and I will do nothing less."

"Well, if you're so intent on fighting, why don't ya join the army?"

Dilandau perked up at this.

"I dunno. The Asturian army probably wouldn't take such a scrawny guy."

"Yeah, but Zaibach takes 'em all the time. You wouldn't mind working for the bastards, would ya?"

There was silence a moment while Dilandau stared at them, completely shocked at his luck.

"Take me to the nearest recruiting station," he said pointedly.

"Heh. Listen to him! He's awful excited."

"Doesn't know what a hell that place is, probably. I had a brother who joined up. Got sent home a weak later. He's had nightmares about it since."

"Yeah, but your brother is an idiot. He's going to drive his mother insane."

"Heh. Unless he ends up in prison first. Or in office. One of those two."

They chattered on as they helped Dilandau to his feet and led him to the station. He was glad enough when they left, as their yattering was one of the more annoying things he'd had to listen to in his life.

"Can I help you?" asked the recruiter politely. "I have some information you can read, or you can just si-"

"I want to speak to the Strategos. Immediately."

The recruiter was surprised at Dilandau's boldness. Had he recognized him, he would simply have complied with the request, not questioning at all.

"That's a tall order, young man. He's a very busy man, and what's more, you're not even a part of this army.

"Yes I am! I am Captain Dilandau Albatou, Number DS01-0001, Age 15, Record: Forbidden. Look my name up in the registry if you want. Just get me Folken."

"...You're not really him. He's dead. Everyone knows that."

Dilandau smacked his palm against the desk.

"I am not dead! The man that said that is a liar and he should be executed! I swear I'll kill him for this! He deserves nothing less, the traitor! Now, get me Folken before I make an end of you too!"

The power in Dilandau's voice frightened the recruiter immensely. Though he was weak, he did not lose his commanding presence, his demanding nature. He did not intend to be pushed away at this point. Not after the hell he had just endured.

"I..I..I'll see what I can do for you, sir." With that, the recruiter scurried away. He returned with a senior officer, who looked Dilandau over.

"And you say you are the Captain Dilandau Albatou?" he inquired skeptically.

"I am indeed. If you send for the Strategos, I will not hold your underling's folly against you. Send for him. Now!"

"I would think a captain with no identification would realize he should be more prudent. If you calm down, I may do as I ask."

Dilandau glowered at him.

"I did not get where I am by being patient and complicent. Now go and get him or I shall take your head."

"I will not."

"Then take me to your superior officer."

"I am not inclined to do so. You certainly do not strike me as one of our officers. You don't walk or speak with a military manner, and one so high ranking would have acquired such traits. You are not Captain Dilandau Albatou."

Dilandau sighed with exasperation.

"As usual, recruiters are so far removed from the army that they know nothing. Take me to him!"

"Very well. I will take you to my superior officer. You can take it up with him. He'll decide if you are to be locked up for impersonating an officer."

Dilandau was taken to the back where he had a similar conversation with the other officer. He managed to make it to several succeeding officers, moving deeper and deeper into Zaibach once more. He finally made it aboard the Vione, as he was forceful enough in his demands that they had sent a messenger to query whether or not the Strategos had time for a meeting. After an endless amount of time, they were informed that the Strategos had declined all meetings for the day. Dilandau was invited to stay in one of the detention rooms to wait for Folken to be willing to take his case. Needless to say, this left Dilandau in a very foul mood when he actually did get the chance to speak with him.

"I see I'm -very- important to you, Strategos. It's a pleasant thought to know I'm so well-taken care of here that I could dissapear for three days and no one bother to do a thorough search for me! There is no excuse for this! I want that man's head!"

"It was actually six days. Calm down," Folken stated quite calmly. He took out a pile of papers to fill out a report. "Now, who did this to you?"

"That bastard, that-"

"Name and rank, Dilandau."

"General Adelphus," Dilandau said through grit teeth.

"Indeed? I hadn't thought him guilty, actually," Folken said as he wrote some information down. It wasn't clear whether or not he was being sarcastic.

"Oh, of course not, you foolish man. I heard you. You didn't bother to inspect properly! I intend to look through the room myself. I don't knwo where I was hidden, but I will fucking find it!"

"Watch your language. Very well, then. General Gein Adelphus abducted you, locked you in an undisclosed location and left you for dead in civilian clothing near the Asturian waterfront. Is this correct?"

"Yes! All of it! I want him dead for this!"

"That, unfortunately, is not something you are likely to have. Even if he did as you say, he did not kill you. He allowed you to live. Such a thing would not lead to his death, but rather to reprimand and possible imprisonment for a time."

"He's a traitor, Folken! How can you let him get away with this!"

"Simply because of the position you are in, Dilandau. If this ever happens again, and I have reason to believe it may, I would like to encourage people not to kill you."

'"If you allow General Adelphus to stay here, it will happen again! What am I supposed to do? I can't disobey an order like that. He's not you."

Folken laughed slightly.

"Thank you for your respect, Dilandau."

"I am serious, Folken! I don't want an enemy in my territory. Are you so fargone as a traitor that you don't even recognize a trecherous act when you see one?"

"I do, of course, recognize that this is a terrible act to have committed, one with no honor and a danger to our society. I will, of course, speak with him and discipline him.

"Discipline? That won't work!"

"You don't think so? As you are merely disciplined for similar actions, I must differ from your beliefs."

"They are not similar. I don't kill my countrymen."

"You have people executed all the time. You are one of the major factors, besides casualties of battle, that we must recruit so heavily."

"They're traitors, Folken. I won't tolerate them. It's bad enough I have to tolerate you."

"Ah, but you do it so admirably well," replied Folken. He turned the pages, writing the usual, skipping what he could.

"So, what's going to happen?" Dilandau asked, not calming in the slightest.

"First, I am going to finish this. Then you and I will go and speak with Adelphus. After this, we will make a formal complaint against him."

"Folken! I can not wait this long! I want something done now!"

"Dilandau, you're going to have to have patience. You are dead. It will take work to bring you back. I could simply lock you up in the detention center until it is done, and then you would have no idea of the progress. If you would rather accompany me, by all means do so."

Dilandau glared at him for a moment.

"Then let's get this over with."

Meanwhile, the Dragonslayers were having their own problems. Gatty's position was an impossible one. Half the Dragonslayers were beside themselves with grief so much that death seemed the only viable option. Then, of course, there were those like Miguel, who felt it wrong to the very core of their being to have someone else in Dilandau's place. They would never accept Gatty there, and were intent on letting him know this. He had so much paperwork to fill out, which no messenger had time to assist him in and no other Dragonslayer knew how to use. There were also his normal duties as messenger, which were presently being handled by Shesta. He feared how badly they would be bungled. There was nothing more he cared about than his work. But it wasn't his work anymore. No, he was a captain now. It was all so much...too much.

"Miguel, please! I am trying to work. I don't need this," Gatty cried, exhausted to his very soul.

"Oh, fine. Work at a time like this. What about Guimel? He's not going to last long. You need to take care of him, you idiot!"

"If you're so worried, -you- go take care of him! I can't!"

"You have to! That's what a leader does."

"I can't right now!" Gatty yelled. He spread his arms wide in a gesture to point out the amount of paper on his desk.

"These are more complicated than you realize, Miguel. If you were a decent soldier, you would try and help me with the other things rather than screaming at me about them."

"I will do what I damned well please. I'm not calling you sir. You don't deserve it. You didn't earn it. How dare you sit there in his place!"

"This was his office, Miguel. It's where all the paperwork is for something like this. Would you rather I drag it all to my office?"

"You gave that office to Shesta, you idiot. It's not yours anymore. Unless you're going to do both jobs at once? How like you."

"No, Miguel. I'm not. But you don't want me to call this office mine. What can I do? I can't pretend things are the way they were. I can't pretend this isn't how it is now."

"You're in denial about it! You're just...how can you work at a time like this! How dare you!"

Miguel walked up to Gatty and slapped him quite hard in the face. Gatty stared at him for a moment. He then looked down at the desk, at all the work that lay before him. He moved to pick up the pen that he dropped, but let his hand lay limp upon the desk instead. He looked on ahead, somewhat dazed. Miguel continued to scream at him, enraged that the whole world hadn't stopped when his had died.

"...Miguel...I..."

Gatty shut his eyes. Before he had been struck, he hadn't time enough to properly consider his feelings. There had, of course, been the shock of hearing of Dilandau's death. There was the consequent rage that not enough was being done about the matter. There was the dread of all the work that lay ahead, and the sympathy for his fellow men. However, he had not even begun to grieve. He hadn't looked into his feelings at all. While they others had been dealing with their sorrow by withdrawing from the world and waiting for death, Gatty had only let himself be distracted by work. He prepared for a future that might never come at all if the others had given up so completely.

He hadn't time to consider that this man who so controlled their lives, cared for them so much, and was the only force they could depend on was now dead. He placed a hand against his mouth, the shock, the horror, the horrible emotions welled up inside him finally coming to light all at once. He opened his eyes once more. His vision was blurred slightly. He finally said a few words he never in his life thought he would say.

"I can't do this."

The statement was quiet and precise. He looked up at Miguel, who had quieted down.

"I can not do this."

Miguel looked into Gatty's eyes, past the set expression of detachment he often wore. In them, he saw such uncertainty, such sorrow. Emotions which did not find a place for the work Gatty carried out every day. Things he rarely felt and for good reason. Now that he had even contemplated not being able to do his work, his emotions had found a way to work themselves into his face again. He then stared at the door again.

"I can't..."

Miguel stared on, not certain how to handle this. He had hated Gatty for not letting the world stop for him. Now he realized, without his work...If Gatty stopped this, their group truly would die. Everything Dilandau has worked on with them would die. Is that really what they should do? He felt conflicted. Should he attempt to dissuade Gatty of what he just convinced him of? Or...no, Gatty had been destroyed. There would be no way to fix him now.

"I can't do this!" Gatty shrieked. He bolted from the chair and ran out of the room in the most uncharacteristic fashion.

"Wait!" Miguel called as he ran after him. "Gatty, wait! Don't!"

Miguel caught up with him in the hall.

"Gatty, come back!"

Miguel had to tackle Gatty to make him stop his running. The two wrestled for a bit on the floor.

"Gatty, don't be an idiot!"

"Miguel, I can't do it! I'm not going back. You won't make me!"

"You have to. We need you."

"I can't do it, Miguel! I can't keep Guimel or you or Dalet or anyone from killing themselves. I can't make us what we were. I can't take his place. I am not Lord Dilandau!"

"I know you're not. No one's asking you to be."

"Yes, they are! He is what we are, and without him, we are nothing. I can't do this!"

Miguel sat up. Gatty still lay on the floor, curling up.

"We are nothing. But you can't run away. You have to stay. We need you."

"...I need -him.-"

And suddenly nothing mattered, or would ever matter. Not the things they had accomplished, not the skills they had, or the friendship they had in eachother. Not even the joyous occasion of death would help them. This was it. There was nothing.

Fearing that there might be some very negative reactions, Adelphus had planned for someone from the medical wards to check upon the Dragonslayers. The doctor was shocked to see them all in such a state. He immediately cleared space in the ward so that they might be better watched over. Gatty was given his own space, as seclusion seemed the best thing for him. Miguel and Shesta stayed to speak with him, but nothing helped.

Things had fallen into such a state that word had been sent to the Strategos to ask for more assistance or advice on what to do with them. Folken stared at Dilandau.

"Did I not inform you that the way you treat them is not a healthy thing to do?"

"I expected them to react in no other way," Dilandau stated, coldly.

"This is not a good thing, Dilandau."

"Of course it isn't! This is why I need to kill Adelphus. Look what he did to my men!"

"While he attempted to make it appear as if you were dead, he did not make your men this way. This is indeed your fault, Dilandau."

"You know nothing about it, Folken. You never will. You don't understand us." He placed emphasis on 'us,' as the closed in sort of world they shared was also a comfort to him.

"On the contrary, I understand the set of you all too well. It saddens me, even in the best of times."

"I don't care what you think. I want him dead. And I want to go see my men."

"The latter I can give you. The other will not happen."

"Then I wish you dead," Dilandau stated coldly.

"You may wish what you like," Folken replied. He wrote something on a slip of paper and handed it to Dilandau. "This is your civilian's pass. Someone will escort you there. This should be sufficient proof that you are, in fact, not dead, and there should be no trouble. I would suggest not running off at this point either."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Dilandau yelled. "Just get the damned escort and leave me alone."

"As you wish," Folken stated.

It did take a bit of arguing with the doctors to actually allow Dilandau to see his men, but the paper Folken had given him assured that he could do so. It was against the doctor's better judgement at this point, as he was certain Dilandau would punish them for weakness, but he could not deny the Strategos.

He walked into the room and looked them over. Those who noticed him stared at him, their eyes locked upon him. They thought they had perhaps gone mad and were merely imagining him. But then the others seemed to see him too.

"I'm alive," he stated. "I intend to stay that way. I commend you for your loyalty to me."

With that, he walked into the small room on the end where Gatty, Miguel and Shesta had been talking. He shut the door behind him. The Shesta and Miguel looked at him, beside themselves with what they now felt.

"Lord Dilandau..you're alive!"

"Of course I am. With no thanks to you," he said, directing his last words at Gatty. "Did you enjoy your stint as a leader, Gatty?"

"...No, sir. I did not. I have failed."

"Obviously," Dilandau remarked. "Perhaps it would have done better for you to look harder for me, then, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, sir," he stated without hesitation. He should have done more, he knew it. There were so many things he could have done. Held the General at knifepoint. Demanded more loudly that something be done. Simply broken rules for once in his life. There was so much he could have done, should have done, but was unable to do. His shattered world had been his own fault.

"Let's see that it doesn't happen again."

"No, sir."

Dilandau walked toward the door.

"You're not staying here, you know. You're not."

Gatty glanced upward at Dilandau, not moving his bowed head.

"You've got work to do."

"Yes, sir. I will do it, sir."

"Good."

A trial did indeed take place for General Adelphus. He was reprimanded, banned from any personal and unsupervised contact with Dilandau, and had a few privelages taken away for a year or so. He wasn't removed from Dilandau's chain of command, however, and thus he was still a great danger to Dilandau. Dilandau always did find it strange how his foreign enemies were very easy for him to deal with, but the domestic ones were nearly impossible.

The Dragonslayers returned to their work after a few weeks' time. Gatty was the first of them to return, after much pressing the nurses and pleading and begging and general annoyance. They never did get over this loss, and what was more, they now had to deal with the fear that it might very well happen again in the future. Their vow to lay down their lives before any real harm should come to their lord was renewed, though it did little to sooth them.

Author's notes: ...Well, after sitting and working on this for a few hours, I couldn't come up with a good ending, and I'm just too...eh...in grief and depressed from leftover Dragonslayer emotions to try and work more on it. Sorry. I hope you enjoyed it anyway.


End file.
